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"Madden Curse" Strikes Again

Madden 07 cover athlete Shaun Alexander has suffered a cracked bone in his left foot, once again proving that the Madden Curse is real.

Is there anything more reliable than the Madden Curse? The Seattle Seahawks' Shaun Alexander won the NFL MVP in 2005 with a record 28 touchdowns, leading the way to his becoming the cover athlete for Madden NFL 07, but on Monday, the Madden Curse struck again, as Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren announced that the star running back will be benched indefinitely due to a cracked bone in his left foot.

In week 1 of the NFL regular season, Shaun Alexander injured his foot in a tough game against the Detroit Lions, but continued to play in weeks 2 and 3 despite missing practices. His 3.1 yards per carry average at the time was well below his regular season totals. In the week 3 game against the New York Giants, Alexander cracked a bone in his left foot, which according to Holmgren has put the league MVP on crutches, and will leave him off the field for several games. "We're looking at a few weeks. Let's put it that way."

The history of the so-called Curse goes back to the 2000 edition of the game, when the Detroit Lions' Barry Sanders shared the cover with John Madden. Sanders retired before training camp, so that year's cover athlete wasn't even on the field. In 2002, that year's cover athlete Daunte Culpepper struggled and had his season cut short by a knee injury. The 2003 cover featured Marshall Faulk, who, after suffering an ankle injury, failed to rush for 1000 yards and never did so again in his career. Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, who graced the 2004 cover, fractured his right fibula the day after the game was put on store shelves. Last year, quarterback Donovan McNabb had a troubled season, with a sports hernia in the first game and the Eagles underperforming in every possible way.

Alexander's injury is tragic news for fantasy football owners who took the RB with their top pick this year. The incredibly durable Alexander has started in 69 of the last 70 games for the Seahawks, having missed only one start in order to witness the birth of his daughter. (He went on to play in that game in the second quarter.) Backup running back Maurice Morris will get the starts in his absence.

It will be interesting to see who will make it on the cover of the 2008 edition of Madden; we're sure football fans, fantasy football players, and probably some Las Vegas betting agencies will all be watching the situation closely.